Photo: Getty Images/Unsplash+
In today’s edition: how batteries are extending the capacity of solar power across California, the keyhole surgery that reparied an infant’s birth defect before birth, and a trio of juvenile white storks return to Derbyshire for the first time in six centuries.
California’s batteries are increasingly shifting surplus midday solar into the evening, helping extend solar’s value beyond standard daylight hours. In May, solar supplied 51% of in-state electricity, while batteries charged at up to 7.3 GW around noon and discharged up to 8.9 GW near 8 p.m., setting new performance records.
Source: Spokesman
Solar energy supplied more power to Great Britain’s grid in July than in any previous month as households turned to rooftop panels to cut their energy bills. Solar farms and rooftop panels provided 14.4% of the country’s electricity after some parts of the UK recorded almost twice the average sunshine hours for the time of year.
Source: The Guardian
Doctors have successfully treated an unborn baby with gastroschisis – a condition in which the intestines develop outside the body – using keyhole surgery while he was still in the womb. The procedure returned the organs to the abdomen before birth, and five-month-old Theo is now thriving.
Source: BBC News
Uganda has declared the end of its latest Ebola outbreak after the last patient was discharged in mid-June and no new infections were detected during the mandatory 21-day monitoring period. Health officials said better surveillance found no evidence of further community transmission.
Source: ABC News
Montenegro has become the first country in the Balkans to approve two days of paid monthly leave for women diagnosed with gynecological conditions that cause severe menstrual pain, expanding workplace protections for those affected.
Source: Prizren Post
Meta will remove Instagram videos that secretly film and harass people, responding to growing concerns over the misuse of smart glasses and other wearable cameras to invade privacy.
Source: Heise
In Croatia, fathers are learning that sharing housework can strengthen family relationships through the “Superdads” programme. Run by Status M, the scheme encourages men to rethink masculinity by taking on more household responsibilities and helping to prevent gender-based violence.
Source: BBC News
In Vietnam’s Pu Mat National Park, rangers are using new technologies alongside traditional patrols to track threats and protect endangered species, combating illegal wildlife poaching in one of the country’s most significant conservation areas.
Source: Mongabay
In nine pilot sites across Europe, make-a-thek workshops are helping build stronger neighbourhood connections by teaching people how to repair and reuse old clothes instead of discarding them, encouraging a more sustainable, circular way of living.
Source: Reset
The trio of juvenile white storks have just arrived at their new home in Willington Wetlands in Derbyshire and conservationists are hopeful that their presence will kickstart the return of the birds to the Midlands after an absence of more than 600 years.
Source: The Guardian
We’ll be taking a short holiday break on Wednesday and Friday, so there won’t be an issue published on those days. We’ll be back on Monday 10 August.
Source: On a personal note
